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Geocache Description:

The description below is the one written by Jeremy and Samsy. We hope you enjoy your trek to the old mining town of Monte Cristo!

Difficult Rating - 2
Altitude - 2859 ft

Usually I wouldn't give a lot of information about a stash, but this one is pretty interesting. Note that Monte Cristo is nestled in a deep valley with lots of trees, so the GPS unit was struggling to get a good read. I was able to get enough readings at 30 ft accuracy, however.

If you're having trouble finding the stash, locate the garage. The stump is roughly north-northeast and can be seen from the building. Based on the heavy traffic to the area please rehide the stash as good or better than you found it. Hopefully the stash will stick around for a while, but I hear that the town is heavily trafficked in the summer. Not sure if it's even accessible during the winter. There was snow on the ground the day we hid it.

You can mountain bike most of the way, but you'll need to lock up your bike to hike to the townsite.

Interesting article and pictures can be found here (no affiliation). The sign in the bottom picture can still be found today, though it is now leaning against a boulder.

Monte Cristo is in the Cascade mountains of north central Washington State. A booming gold mining town in 1898, it became a ghost town a few years later. It is a favorite destination for hikers during the summer. It nestles at the base of 7,000 ft mountains, glacial basins and the purest water you'll ever find. Monte is 45 miles from the nearest town, 25 miles from power or telephone and 18 miles from the end of a plowed road in wintertime. Snows reach 13 feet in depth at Monte Cristo.

In 1889, prospector Joe Pearsall set out from Mineral City north of Index and climbed to the top of 6000-foot Mt Hubbard. Looking north, he saw red streaks of the rock galena, which promised mineral wealth. He named the area Monte Cristo.

With the help of eastern financiers including John D Rockefeller, a railroad was built and the Monte Cristo mine was opened. However, the mine was uneconomical and was closed in 1907. The railroad continued to provide service until 1936.